DominicanPhilosophy Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 [i][b]1.[/b][/i] What is the Church's view of University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN)? I've been there for a week this summer and last summer, and the more I look into it from the point-of-view of a high school upperclassman searching for colleges, I really do like it. Initially, I was sure that I wanted a small, liberal arts, Catholic college, but UND does feel small, despite its large size; the different scholastic programs offered also interest me. The only thing is, of course, the theology department. I would definitely drop Notre Dame as one of the colleges on my list if the theology department is really messed up/unfaithful to Rome. In light of the recent "scandal," I'd like to hear what the Vatican says about the university. Also, while each male dorm building has a priest, female dorms don't because, well, priests are male. However, I noticed on the school's website that each female dorm has a "rector": a sister (not sure the congregation) with different types of pastoral/ministry degrees. Does this mean that these are "women priests"? That kind of...weirded me out. [b][i]2.[/i][/b] Has anyone attended or had personal experience(s) with Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy in Barry's Bay, Ontario, Canada? This seems like a wonderful place and, other than the fact that it's not accredited and is in a location where it is pretty chilly year-round, I think it would be a great school. The transfer of credits to/from would be nasty, it seems, though. I'm planning on taking college classes during the summer by my high school, so I'd have to transfer into and then, of course, out of OLSWA. (There are one-, two-, and three-year certificate programs.) [i][b]3.[/b][/i] If a person has a crush on someone or finds certain people very nice/attractive, does this mean that he or she has no religious vocation? Sorry about these somewhat strange, random, unrelated questions. Thank you, to anyone who responds. +JMJD
Spence06 Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 3. If a person has a crush on someone or finds certain people very nice/attractive, does this mean that he or she has no religious vocation? I can answer this because I find myself in the seminary almost four years now, and I would not have even applied if this were true. I think wanting and desiring a relationship or admiring someone who is attractive is very healthy and if you didn't desire these things, usually, in my experience this will raise some red flags in the seminary.
icelandic_iceskater Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 #1. I have a totally unrelated answer for you... lol. But if you're looking into Notre Dame, check out [url="http://www.hcc-nd.edu/"]Holy Cross College[/url] as well. They're a small catholic school in South Bend. With N.D. and St. Mary's on the same block you get a lot of the big school type experiences with the small school type benefits. And they're orthodox. Just thought I'd throw that out there. ^.^
Deus te Amat Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 [url="http://www.udallas.edu"]www.udallas.edu[/url] Check out the University of Dallas. It's a small, Catholic, liberal arts University, in line with the mandatum and magisterium. George Weigle's daughter went here, (he wrote Witness to Hope, JPII's biography) and he calls it "the best Catholic college in the united states". They have a campus in Rome, where nearly all the students spend a semester. The theology department is huge, and extremely orthodox. The professors are here because they love the students, and love to teach. They love having students come into their office just to chat. The student body is small (undergrad around 1300), but it is a really tight knit community. It is in Irving, TX, on the edge of the Dallas/FW megalopolis, but there is something called the "UD bubble"... the outside world doesn't really enter campus if you don't want it to. Let me know if you have any questions. It is a really challenging school... and you honestly do learn a lot. Their motto is "the Catholic University for Independent Thinkers".
Deus te Amat Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 [quote name='DominicanPhilosophy' post='1897549' date='Jun 21 2009, 12:59 PM']Thank you, to anyone who responds. +JMJD[/quote] Oh, and a mutual someone we know loves UD. And so do more than a few of the sisters at your school. Please check it out!
VeniteAdoremus Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 3. [i]Absolutely[/i] not. There certainly are religious who never felt like dating, but that doesn't mean you don't have a vocation if you did date.
afro_john Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 1. I don't know if Rome has come out and said anything officially in regards to the Obama scandal, but I do know that BXVI laid the smack-down a couple years ago and told Notre Dame they needed to shape up their philosophy and theology departments otherwise the Vatican would force them to remove the "catholic" from their name. So, it's sad to say that Our Lady's campus has been teetering on the edge for a while. If you're looking around for legit Catholic Colleges, I have two words for you: Benedictine College (www.benedictine.edu). We're a smaller school in Atchison, Kansas, but we have a very faithful and dynamic theology and philosophy department and we are ranked by USA Today as one of America's top colleges. 3. No, not necessarily. What you need to do is pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in His will to what His plan is to make you truly happy. You'll be in my prayers.
Resurrexi Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 [quote name='Deus_te_Amat' post='1897608' date='Jun 21 2009, 02:18 PM'][url="http://www.udallas.edu"]www.udallas.edu[/url] Check out the University of Dallas. It's a small, Catholic, liberal arts University, in line with the mandatum and magisterium. George Weigle's daughter went here, (he wrote Witness to Hope, JPII's biography) and he calls it "the best Catholic college in the united states". They have a campus in Rome, where nearly all the students spend a semester. The theology department is huge, and extremely orthodox. The professors are here because they love the students, and love to teach. They love having students come into their office just to chat. The student body is small (undergrad around 1300), but it is a really tight knit community. It is in Irving, TX, on the edge of the Dallas/FW megalopolis, but there is something called the "UD bubble"... the outside world doesn't really enter campus if you don't want it to. Let me know if you have any questions. It is a really challenging school... and you honestly do learn a lot. Their motto is "the Catholic University for Independent Thinkers". [/quote] I'm considering going to Dallas.
Deus te Amat Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 [quote name='Resurrexi' post='1897627' date='Jun 21 2009, 02:30 PM']I'm considering going to Dallas. [/quote] DO IT. Seriously. There's four different types of Masses within walking distance, and the Dallas Carmel offers the Tridentine Mass. It's only a few minute drive away. Lots of the students at UD come from the traditional orthodox Catholic background. They know their stuff. It's great.
MissScripture Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 The only one I can offer any input on is number 3: My priest was married before he became a priest (his wife died). And I know that many men and women dated before entering the seminary/monastery/convent. I've also heard stories of men who were about to get married and at the last minute decided they were not meant to get married, but instead became priests. And one of my professors never dated throughout high school and college, because all he ever wanted to do was become a priest. Well, after two rounds in the seminary (he started, it wasn't working, he went into the military, went back to the seminary after that for some time) he quit and got married. Discerning is a process, and one never knows where it might take them. Just be open to God's will.
CatherineM Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 I'd also like to add that a very wise person told me that some of the best Catholic spouses are those who had considered a religious vocation at some point. I don't know if that is because they chose marriage rather than make it a default position, or if those who have discerned take their faith more seriously. I think by discerning all possible vocations, we make better choices rather than just going where the flow takes us.
EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 1. I'm a Notre Dame student and theology major. I know what you mean about the atmosphere - it's what made me fall in love with ND many years ago. The theology department had nothing to do with President Obama coming to ND, it was the decision of a small group of administrators. There is some bad in the department, but the chairmen is solid and the direction is toward orthodoxy. I can assure you there are a great number of orthodox Catholic people on campus. There is even a Dominican presence on campus, since you appear to be interested. I'm guessing you did the Vision program so you probably already met some in the counselors. Many of them are my friends :-) All the dorms have rectors. Most of the male dorms have priests as rectors and many of the female dorms have sisters. Some of each have lay rectors but the religious rectors are almost all Holy Cross. No matter what though every dorm, including female, has a priest in residence who presides at mass in the dorm chapel.
mommas_boy Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='icelandic_iceskater' post='1897577' date='Jun 21 2009, 01:37 PM']#1. I have a totally unrelated answer for you... lol. But if you're looking into Notre Dame, check out [url="http://www.hcc-nd.edu/"]Holy Cross College[/url] as well. They're a small catholic school in South Bend. With N.D. and St. Mary's on the same block you get a lot of the big school type experiences with the small school type benefits. And they're orthodox. Just thought I'd throw that out there. ^.^[/quote] M'lady recently graduated from St. Mary's this year. From what she's told me, it's similar to how I view Notre Dame: some people are trying very hard to be orthodox; others are not. It depends on whom you hang out with, and what classes you take. If you're looking for the small-school atmosphere with the big-school advantages, definitely look into these smaller schools, though. M'lady was able to use all that Notre Dame had to offer, but still graduated in a very small school.
IcePrincessKRS Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 My brother in law and sister in law went to OLSWA in Canada. I believe they transfer credits to Thomas Aquinas in Cali and FUS if you wound up wanting to go somewhere else (I forget which schools accept their credits). My BIL only attended for a year, I believe, before transferring to TAC. My SIL stayed there. They both liked it pretty well from what I understand. If you have any specific questions I can e-mail and ask them. Theologically speaking it's solid.
EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 (edited) [quote name='afrojohn' post='1897621' date='Jun 21 2009, 01:27 PM']1. I don't know if Rome has come out and said anything officially in regards to the Obama scandal, but I do know that BXVI laid the smack-down a couple years ago and told Notre Dame they needed to shape up their philosophy and theology departments otherwise the Vatican would force them to remove the "catholic" from their name.[/quote] I would like to know more about where you heard this from. A few years ago, Pope Benedict XVI told President Fr. Jenkins that Notre Dame was "great Catholic university" when they met in Rome. Unrelated but interesting, ND offered Fr. Ratzinger a job in the 60's. God had other plans ;-) Oh, and our philosophy department is awesome! Edited June 22, 2009 by thedude
DominicanPhilosophy Posted June 22, 2009 Author Posted June 22, 2009 [i][b]1.[/b][/i] Is UND's theology program in-line with Rome, though? What is it that has made so many people question the theology at Notre Dame ('scuse the ignorance)? Yeah, from what I was able to find through scouring Google, the Vatican has not made an official statement on the legitimacy of the program. Again, that's really the only thing about Notre Dame that concerns me. I'm not big on many of the liturgical practices, but my experiences have been limited to ND VIsion [good call, [i]thedude[/i] lol!], which is aimed toward teens and is therefore more "happy clappy" and upbeat than focused on sacred music and tradition. Are there more traditional Catholics and Masses on campus? I'm not necessarily meaning Tridentine Masses, though that would be neat; I live in the "Buckle of the Bible Belt," so I've never even been to a Latin Mass. Just so long as there's an alternative to the more Life-Teen-like stuff. Thank you all for your informative responses! [b][i]2.[/i][/b] IcePrincessKRS, thank you *so* much! I am so glad to have found [i]someone[/i] who knows of OLSWA, haha! It's such a small and new institution that odds are definitely against finding someone who knows former students. Awesomeness! [b][i]3.[/i][/b] Again, thank you, everyone. I pretty much was expecting to hear this kind of stuff, and I suppose I just needed some reassurance from third parties. [b]FIAT![/b] +JMJD
VeniteAdoremus Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 You can read [url="http://holywhapping.blogspot.com/"]http://holywhapping.blogspot.com/[/url] , which is written by several ND alumni, and covers church architecture, church architecture, history, what's happening at ND, church architecture and random Catholic hilarious stuff. They talked about the Latin (TLM) masses at ND a couple of times.
Resurrexi Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='VeniteAdoremus' post='1898340' date='Jun 22 2009, 03:00 AM']You can read [url="http://holywhapping.blogspot.com/"]http://holywhapping.blogspot.com/[/url] , which is written by several ND alumni, and covers church architecture, church architecture, history, what's happening at ND, church architecture and random Catholic hilarious stuff. They talked about the Latin (TLM) masses at ND a couple of times.[/quote] I that blog!
EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='DominicanPhilosophy' post='1898329' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:24 AM'][i][b]1.[/b][/i] Is UND's theology program in-line with Rome, though? What is it that has made so many people question the theology at Notre Dame ('scuse the ignorance)? Yeah, from what I was able to find through scouring Google, the Vatican has not made an official statement on the legitimacy of the program. Again, that's really the only thing about Notre Dame that concerns me. I'm not big on many of the liturgical practices, but my experiences have been limited to ND VIsion [good call, [i]thedude[/i] lol!], which is aimed toward teens and is therefore more "happy clappy" and upbeat than focused on sacred music and tradition. Are there more traditional Catholics and Masses on campus? I'm not necessarily meaning Tridentine Masses, though that would be neat; I live in the "Buckle of the Bible Belt," so I've never even been to a Latin Mass. Just so long as there's an alternative to the more Life-Teen-like stuff. Thank you all for your informative responses![/quote] The department is teacher by teacher. Most of the stuff covered in the major has little to do with things that could be presented in a terribly unorthodox way, even if the teacher is unorthodox. You can pick and choose to avoid teachers since a lot of it is elective and left up to the individual student. There are good and bad teachers. I've taken classes from a host of the good ones - I would say the bad are a small minority. It's not perfect, but if you use discretion, you won't come across much bad. From experience I know we have excellent orthodox people who teach in early Church history, liturgy, and scripture studies. A lot of the philosophy classes are solidly Catholic oriented as well (and some are cross listed and can count toward a theology major). From what I can tell, people who say bad about the department have seen a certain notorious faculty member who voices his dissenting views on cable news once in a while (I won't name him, he is a priest and worthy of the clergy's proper respect). I have never even seen him on campus. As I understand it, he teaches one second-level theology class that nobody is required to take. It's an enormous class that most people take because it's easy, not because he carries any prestige as a theologian. Like I said before, the chair of the department is solid and is doing good things. Unfortunately there is not much he can do about tenured faculty that he inherited. Are there traditional Catholics on campus? YES! They're cool and I'm friends with a great deal of them. We are one of the very few Catholic campuses with our own weekly Tridentine mass. There is an annual trip to the All Souls Day Tridentine mass at St. John Cantius in Chicago, as well as opportunities to attend Byzantine divine liturgies. Campus ministry is awesome and staffed by amazing people, not to mention the large community of awesome religious on campus. There is also a student club called the Children of Mary who are totally focused on traditional devotions, feasts, chant, and liturgies. The Orestes Brownson Council is an intellectual group that discusses America and Catholicism on a regular basis. We also have Militia Immaculata groups and a very solid Knights of Columbus council on campus (the only club with it's own building, open 24 hours, and complete with its own HD theater room). In addition, all the Basilica liturgies (mass, vespers) are quite traditional, with the slight exception of folk choir music at the 11:45. Your experience on Vision is definitely not the only expression of faith you'll find on campus, but if you're into praise and worship, there is a Catholic club called Four:7 (named for 2 Tim. 4:7) that meets every week and always features an awesome speaker (we had Francis Beckwith once last year as well as David Currie - both famous converts!). Seriously, if you have any questions about ND, let me know.
DominicanPhilosophy Posted June 22, 2009 Author Posted June 22, 2009 Wow, thank you guys so much for your responses! And that is a neat blog! :-) I've looked at the web sites, but how - in actuality - do Holy Cross College and St. Mary's differ from the University of Notre Dame? I saw that Holy Cross has that unique four-experiences program thing, and St. Mary's looks neat, but why are there separate colleges/how do they tie back in to the overall U of ND thing? +JMJD
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